Italy ousts brave Japan in thriller as Brazil advances
Source: AFP |
June 21, 2013, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
ITALY booked its place in the semifinals of the Confederations Cup in Recipe on Wednesday with a thrilling come-from-behind 4-3 win over Japan that also sent Brazil into the last four. The host had earlier beaten Mexico 2-0.
The Italians looked to be heading for a shock defeat after going 0-2 down midway through the first half, with Keisuke Honda slotting a 21st-minute penalty before Manchester United star Shinji Kagawa doubled the lead for the Asian champion.
However, Italy fought back with a three-goal blast either side of half-time, courtesy of strikes from Daniele De Rossi, an own-goal from Atsuto Uchida and a Mario Balotelli spot-kick to make it 3-2.
Japan leveled at 3-3 courtesy of a thumping header from Shinji Okazaki on 69 minutes as the momentum shifted again before Italy substitute Sebastian Giovinco sealed a dramatic encounter with the winner four minutes from time.
The result saw Japan eliminated along with Mexico in Group A, while Brazil and Italy will now face each other on Sunday in Salvador in the final pool match to determine who qualifies as the group winner - the runner-up will likely face world champion Spain.
It was an agonizing exit for Japan, whose coach Alberto Zaccheroni had challenged his team to take the game to his Italian countrymen after a lackluster display in its opening defeat to Brazil.
"I think we did show we have a lot of personality but we need to accumulate more experience," Zaccheroni conceded. "I hope Italy now wins the Cup since we are not going to be in the semifinals. I hope they win."
In Fortaleza, Neymar scored one goal and set up the other to give Brazil victory.
The 21-year-old took his tally to 13 goals in his last 15 games for his country with a superb left-footed volley early in the first-half, and then produced a brilliant shimmy between two Mexican defenders in second-half stoppage time to set up Jo for the second goal.
Neymar, whose new employer Barcelona will have been delighted with his showing, was unsurprisingly named man of the match but shrugged it off saying the team's overall performance was the crucial thing.
"We are progressing with each match, we get more and more engaged as each game goes on and then we take the good things out of that performance to use the next time," he said.
"Brazil is always one of the favorites in whatever competition we play in, but we must keep our feet on the ground.
"Our next match is against Italy which is a really good team and we must hope to achieve our objective in winning."
The Italians looked to be heading for a shock defeat after going 0-2 down midway through the first half, with Keisuke Honda slotting a 21st-minute penalty before Manchester United star Shinji Kagawa doubled the lead for the Asian champion.
However, Italy fought back with a three-goal blast either side of half-time, courtesy of strikes from Daniele De Rossi, an own-goal from Atsuto Uchida and a Mario Balotelli spot-kick to make it 3-2.
Japan leveled at 3-3 courtesy of a thumping header from Shinji Okazaki on 69 minutes as the momentum shifted again before Italy substitute Sebastian Giovinco sealed a dramatic encounter with the winner four minutes from time.
The result saw Japan eliminated along with Mexico in Group A, while Brazil and Italy will now face each other on Sunday in Salvador in the final pool match to determine who qualifies as the group winner - the runner-up will likely face world champion Spain.
It was an agonizing exit for Japan, whose coach Alberto Zaccheroni had challenged his team to take the game to his Italian countrymen after a lackluster display in its opening defeat to Brazil.
"I think we did show we have a lot of personality but we need to accumulate more experience," Zaccheroni conceded. "I hope Italy now wins the Cup since we are not going to be in the semifinals. I hope they win."
In Fortaleza, Neymar scored one goal and set up the other to give Brazil victory.
The 21-year-old took his tally to 13 goals in his last 15 games for his country with a superb left-footed volley early in the first-half, and then produced a brilliant shimmy between two Mexican defenders in second-half stoppage time to set up Jo for the second goal.
Neymar, whose new employer Barcelona will have been delighted with his showing, was unsurprisingly named man of the match but shrugged it off saying the team's overall performance was the crucial thing.
"We are progressing with each match, we get more and more engaged as each game goes on and then we take the good things out of that performance to use the next time," he said.
"Brazil is always one of the favorites in whatever competition we play in, but we must keep our feet on the ground.
"Our next match is against Italy which is a really good team and we must hope to achieve our objective in winning."
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